The Next Generation Core Competencies for Emergency Management Professionals
'Introductory Context' The world is becoming more interconnected and interdependent with each passing day, transforming the systems we live and work in. Once familiar roles are evolving at an accelerated pace. Interactions between the evolving social, built, and physical environments are creating greater risk complexities. This new terrain has an impact on the practice of emergency management, today and into the future. Therefore, it is important to consider what foundations are needed for emergency management professionals to address evolving risks. The next generation of emergency management professionals must be self-programmable, values-based, flexible, able to adapt to changing cultural models along the life cycle, capable of bending without breaking, and possess the ability to remain inner-directed while evolving with the surrounding society (Castells & Cardoso, 2005). An examination of the drivers of change over the next couple of decades is critical to understanding the competencies that will be at the core of emergency management professionals’ successful practice. In general terms, competencies are job-relevant behaviors, motivation, and knowledge (Harvard University, n.d.). Core competencies were originally characterized as “…the collective learning in the organization...unlike physical assets, which deteriorate over time, competencies are enhanced as they are applied and shared” (Prahalad & Hamel, 1990, p. 81), and addressed the assets relevant to all people at all levels of service. A more current description for core competencies embodies collective learning that integrates and coordinates diverse skills, and invests in strategies that unify the wider organization or stakeholder community. In contrast, technical competencies are unique to a specific functional component of the discipline, and are important in accomplishing the tasks and objectives specific to those functions. During the 2015 FEMA Higher Education Symposium, interest was expressed for a systematic and comprehensive review of emergency management core competencies for the next generation. Thereby, the FEMA Higher Education Program supported the education community’s process of updating the emergency management core competencies, developed by Dr. Wayne Blanchard in 2005, by sponsoring a focus group of regionally diverse educators. The charge given the group was to draft competencies for 2030 and beyond, and conduct a Delphi study for refinement and ratification of the updated competencies. During the two days of on- site work, the focus group reviewed a broad range of literature of global disaster trends and related core competency projects, and debated the drivers of future disasters along with the foundations an emergency manager of 2030 and beyond might require. Agreement was reached on an initial draft of competencies built upon existing emergency management purview and competencies. Focus group members then conducted the multi-cycle Delphi study. The data obtained was amalgamated and qualitatively analyzed. The analytical results served to adjust and refine the competencies and their definitions following each Delphi cycle. Over the course of 2016, the competencies and definitions derived through the Delphi study were presented in numerous listening sessions. The listening sessions provided data from the wider emergency management community for a final round of qualitative analysis, which was then triangulated with relevant literature. These processes served to polish the competencies, definitions, and their grouping. The competencies fall into three nested categories that are interrelated, but have attributes that build the individual, the practitioner, or relationships. As a clarifying note, the category of Emergency Management Competencies that Build the Practitioner includes competencies that present a concept in conjunction with literacy; used in this sense, literacy is a more expansive perspective, and encompasses knowledge of a particular subject or field. The behavioral anchors and key actions for each competency were developed in 2017. The process of deriving the behavioral anchors and key actions came directly from the range of literature and theories pertaining to the subject matter within each competency. The levels of the key actions are designated by the action verb used, and based upon Bloom’s Taxonomy. Significantly, the resulting evidence based behavioral anchors and key actions establish a model for competency measures at multiple levels of both education and practice. Communications are a cross cutting theme among the behavioral anchors and key actions. The components of communications are expressed in varying dimensions throughout the measures. The evidence highlights communications as a set of fundamental proficiencies that underpin the core competencies for emergency management professionals. The emergency manager’s contribution toward reducing disaster risk and building resilient, thriving communities in the midst of high turbulence, uncertain and complex future will be pivotal. And so, it is important to highlight that built into the competencies is provision for equipping future emergency managers to foster more resilient and thriving communities. Competencies that Build Relationships − Disaster Risk Management − Community Engagement − Governance & Civics − Leadership Competencies that Build the Practitioner − Scientific Literacy − Geographic Literacy − Sociocultural Literacy − Technological Literacy − Systems Literacy Competencies that Build the Individual − Operate within the EM Framework, Principles, & Body of Knowledge − Possess Critical Thinking − Abide by Professional Ethics Using the core competencies and behavioral anchors Core competencies are used in a variety of ways. Most commonly, core competencies are used to develop student learning outcomes for training and education programs; core competencies can also provide transparency for workplace performance. Notably, core competencies are ones relevant to all people at all levels of service, and do not address all skills needed. Moreover, it is unrealistic to expect all of these competencies to be fully available in one person. In using this handbook for academia, one approach is to integrate all the competencies into a curriculum review or new program curriculum. Another way is to incrementally select competencies that are important to build upon existing program goals; and add competencies that are complementary to existing program strengths to achieve balance within an incremental approach. A model for measurement, designed as a support tool for both education and practice, accompanies the competencies in this document. Behavioral anchors and their key actions are specific examples of behaviors that demonstrate competency. The behavioral anchors and their key actions can be used toward observable performance measures, or generating measurable learning objectives to underpin a higher education program or curriculum. Following each behavioral anchor and its key measures is an illustrated sample learning objective at the undergraduate, master, and doctoral levels. The model provides an easy to use guide for evaluating demonstrated competency levels. The overarching goal of the work is to establish the next generation emergency management core competencies for practice. This document is designed to support the education processes involved in preparing the emergency management workforce of 2030 and beyond. Future expansion on this work can more explicitly address professional development and workplace performance. Presented on the following pages are the Next Generation Emergency Management Core Competencies, their definitions, and the behavioral anchors and key actions for evaluating demonstrated competency levels.